This post was inspired by a desire to help my dad, who has MRSA, and that desire evolved into something that – while it's mainly geared towards surfers – I thought could help everybody.
A few days ago I sent my dad an article about a study that was done on mice, where they introduced sugar to an intravenous antibiotic regimen to trick bacterial persisters into coming out of hiding, and thus, getting killed by the antibiotic. Bacterial persisters can show up in staph, strep, tuberculosis, ear infections and urinary tract infections, to name a few–rendering them chronic infections, by shutting down their metabolic function while the antibiotic is in play. They basically hide and reappear some time later, when the grim reaper has left the building. The study found that adding sugar to the antibiotic is kinda like putting a piece of cheese on a mousetrap and waiting for the mouse to come and get squashed. While a mousetrap in itself makes a nice little guillotine for a poor unlucky rodent, very few seem to be stupid enough to walk across one, without sufficient inducement. So like the addition of cheese to a mousetrap, .the sugar lures the bacteria out of hiding and allows it to get squashed by the antibiotic....because it looks so darn yummy.
"Oooh cheese! YUM!...Hey this cheese looks a little old..I don't think this is even real cheese."
I read a lot of medical journal crap, and many of the papers refer to "mouse models" which is a polite way of saying "lab mouse that is going to get injected with some deadly sh*t to see if we can cure him", but I much prefer to think of "mouse models" as cute little mice who pose for pictures and never get harmed...like this little fella. Oh boy, I hope he's not gonna get hurt. That's not a real mousetrap is it? Why would they put a mouse model on a real mousetrap?
Back to our story...
While this is promising news, the trick is getting the sugar to the site of the infection without first breaking down in the digestive system. As I mentioned above, my dad has MRSA, and it has affected his prosthetic hips. At this point, the doctors are giving him a grim prognosis and have even suggested removing the hips for a few months while they pump him full of powerful antibiotics. Because MRSA usually presents with some sort of open sore at the source – and in Dad's case, it's at the hip, I suggested showing the article to his doctors and asking them about using my scrub on the wound, as it not only contained sugar, but also fucoidan–the active component of brown seaweed–which has been studied as a treatment for MRSA.
While waiting to hear back from Dad, I thought I'd do a little more research on this, I started thinking about how the sugar draws out the persister bacteria and wondered if there had been any studies on its topical application. Somebody must have tried this at some point...I wonder if anybody took notes...or lived to tell about it.
What I found out was amazing & I couldn't believe I'd never heard this before. I even consulted with my ex, an MD, on this and he'd never heard about what I'm about to tell you. Buried deep in the medical journals, were studies on wound repair, where sugar was used to effectively treat persistent infections – even serious diabetic ulcers which can lead to amputation – with great success. Well, they weren't really buried, you just had to know what you were looking for.
"Ah–Here it is! Finally!"
One study published by Orthopedic Surgeon, Dr. Richard Knutson, describes 5 years of success treating patients for wounds, burns, and ulcers with granulated sugar and povidone-iodine (Betadine, et al) . This one got me excited, because not only is our scrub made of sugar, but the fucoidan extract in it, is a rich source of iodine, which demonstrates anti-bacterial activity and aids in tissue repair among other great things. Add to this, the antimicrobial healing & moisturizing properties of the coconut oil & cocoa butter, and it suddenly dawned on me that our scrub is probably the number one thing a surfer should keep in their kit along with a bottle of purified water to irrigate the wound.
This got me wondering how many surfers actually keep a first aid kit. ...so I asked.
I spent a couple mornings asking surfers what they had in their first aid kits. The answers ranged from "I've been meaning to get one...I really should have one, shouldn't I?" to a few bandaids, some Neosporin, and one guy just had an empty box with a rusty pair of scissors rattling around in it and a few old band-aid wrappers. Out of all the men I asked, my son was the most prepared (he had the spartan box filled with Neosporin & a couple of bandaids) I asked him how often he gets cut surfing, and his response was "oh, all the time". On the female front however, we had some very well prepared women. You guys better get on it, or hope there's a woman around the next time you scrape up against some bacteria-riddled coral, get sliced by a fin...or bit by some cranky sea creature who's pissed about you dropping in on him.
Clearly you guys need to restock your first aid kits.
I spent some time reading message boards regarding reef cuts and the like, and had a good laugh at some of the stories I read. There was some good advice on there – like, clean it out really, REALLY good; use iodine; hydrogen peroxide can damage cells, lengthen healing time and cause scarring; don't close a wound if it's not completely cleaned out; if it's deep, go to the ER, and I'd like to add one more thing here: If you're seriously bleeding, be careful with the sugar, because it can cause you to bleed more.
With that said, I'd like to put Lido Mare sugar scrub at the top of the list of 5 things you should keep in your first aid kit, and add a few more:
Sterile Gauze. Clean out your wound and cover it up!
Duct Tape This one was from one of the guys I interviewed: He said he keeps duct tape in his car, and we both agreed duct tape works great for a LOT of things! When I was growing up we had a black lab named Lou, who split his tail open wagging it too hard (as labs will do). We bandaged it up but unfortunately, every time he came in the house it ended up like a crime scene, with blood splattered all over the walls. At a loss for how to hold the bandage on his persistently wagging tail, my dad finally wrapped it in duct tape. Lou walked around with a silver tail for a few weeks, but when we took it off, it was good as new. duct tape is the shizzit! Duct tape also comes in cool prints now too- so you can walk around with bacon or the milky way on your healing body part!
Duct tape...From dog tail triage, to prison shower shoes–its uses are endless!
Neosporin is a great topical antibiotic & it keeps the wound from drying out, thus scabbing and creating a scar (although yeah, scars are kinda cool sometimes...especially if there's a good story to go along with them. I have a scar down my right hip where I got in a knife fight in TJ...Okay, that's not true, it's from a hip replacement, but that's the story I tell people so they'll think I'm badass).
Individually Wrapped Tweezers – these are good for everything from bee stings to picking bits of glass or filthy coral out of your skin. I like these because they are individually wrapped, and since you probably won't have boiling water around, these will at least be clean, thus preventing more chance for infection.
One more thing that I mentioned earlier, is to have at least one bottle of purified water on hand to irrigate the wound...I guess that would make it "6 things" though. Oh well, I lied. I gave you a list of 6 things...so sue me.
Also, it's not a bad idea to take a refresher course in first aid. When I was in high school, I had to take a first aid course, and about a week later I was babysitting a girl who slipped on a piece of glass and tore her hand open. It was REALLY bad. Instead of freaking out, I remembered what I was taught, and the doctor told me I saved her from potential complications by acting quickly and effectively. Yay me!
So that's it. Hope you learned something!
"When sugar is packed in a wound, it creates a hyperosmotic environment that kills all bacteria—including antibiotic-resistant “superbugs”—just as saltwater kills freshwater fish. Sugar also draws moisture from inside the wound, reduces inflammation, and provides a covering that prevents scabbing and minimizes scarring. In addition, it attracts macrophages and other immune cells, which cleanse the wound and remove dead tissue, eliminating the need for painful debridement"
"Preliminary data suggest that sugar is an effective wound cleansing and is safe to use in patients with insulin-dependent diabetes. In vitro studies demonstrate that sugar inhibits bacterial growth" https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21647066
"Sugar may be used to reduce wound odor by inhibiting bacterial growth via an osmotic effect"
This information is not intended to treat, diagnose or cure any illness or injury and is not a substitute for proper medical attention.
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